The leader of Nottingham City Council says its members have to "heat their homes and pay their bills like anyone else" after a pay rise of nearly £1,000 for most councillors was approved. An independent panel made the recommendation that members of Nottingham City Council should have a pay rise, which will be backdated to April 1 last year.
Councillors do not receive salaries for their role, but they are instead entitled to an annual basic allowance in recognition of the demands of the job. On top of this basic payment, special responsibility allowances are given to councillors who carry out additional duties such as chairing a committee or holding other leadership positions.
A report from Nottingham's Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), made up of four people who are entirely independent of Nottingham City Council, recommended that these payments should increase. The recommendation for the basic allowance was an increase of 7%, whilst an increase of 2% for the special responsibility allowance has also been approved.
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It means that all councillors will be getting a basic allowance rise of £913.68, taking their total basic allowance payment for the year to £13,966.30. For those holding additional roles at the council, this new total is then added on to their increased special responsibility allowance.
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For Nottingham City Council's leader, David Mellen, his new total allowance for the year will be £53,629.96. The deputy leader of the council, Adele Williams, will have a new total allowance of £42,812.61.
Some councillors opposed the increase in the allowance, with Nottingham Independents leader Kevin Clarke suggesting that councillors should in fact be waiving their allowances given the cost of living crisis. But Councillor David Mellen said: "This would serve no other purpose than to make becoming a councillor financially unviable for most people in our city.
"Councillors have to heat their homes and pay their bills like anyone else. Waiving the allowance would be the same as asking council staff to work for free, it would not be acceptable and it is frankly a ridiculous suggestion."
Councillor Andrew Rule, who leads the Conservative Party at Nottingham City Council, said that he would not be accepting an increase to his allowance. He said: "I do not believe that at a time when the council is proposing to increase fees and charges for council services, as well as scaling back some council services, accepting an increase in the allowance would be seen as the right thing to do in the eyes of the residents in my ward."
But Councillor David Mellen added: "An allowance not only recognises the time councillors devote to work on behalf of their constituents, but also it allows people from all backgrounds to become councillors. That is what we want for Nottingham, people in this chamber who come from all walks of life. It should not be the case that only those people with other financial means can become councillors.
"Being a councillor is not just a pastime or a hobby, but a privilege and a responsibility. This increase is below the rate of inflation, less than the staff increase overall, and comes during the significant cost of living crisis. Nevertheless, it is welcome recognition of the work that we do in this chamber and in our communities."
The pay for council employees usually goes up by a percentage increase but, for the 2022/23 year, the increase was a flat cash sum of £1,925. This meant that the usual percentage increase format could not be applied to councillor allowances.
To work out what the increase to councillor allowances should be, the panel therefore calculated the percentage increase that someone on the average Nottingham City Council salary of just over £28,000 received as a result of the flat cash sum, which came out as 7%.
The panel also says that if the pay of council employees goes up by percentages again, councillor allowances should be linked to this for four years from next April. But if a flat cash sum is offered to council employees again, then the panel will meet again to come up with a new arrangement.
The report before councillors showed that the allowance increases will result in a £40,000 pressure on the council's 2022/23 budget. The proposals were agreed despite opposition from Conservative and Nottingham Independents councillors, who were accused of "gesture politics."
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